After the Reset
by xonceinadream
Summary: The citizens of Sugar Rush know that they're missing memories after the reset. During a meeting with other games, Vanellope is told that she has to find their memories. Joined by Taffyta (and others), Vanellope sets out to find their missing memories. Along the way, she thinks about how Taffyta makes her feel and she tries to remember what is so important in her memories.
1. Requesting Help

**Just saw Wreck-it Ralph yesterday and it is brilliant. Of course, I had to write a fic. It started as a one-shot but as I thought about the idea it got longer. It probably *crosses my fingers* won't be more than a few chapters although we'll see.  
**

* * *

Vanellope still feels 12 and it sucks. She is _not_ 12 and she does not appreciate the fact that she feels like she's 12. The only thing that makes it even remotely better is the fact that the other girls seem to be stuck younger as well, all of them still without their memories. But Vanellope already lived through an entire _year_ of being 12. She's a _teenager_. At least, she's supposed to be. She's supposed to be a teenager and she can't figure out why she's not and why she knows she's supposed to be and it's all just so confusing.

It's an odd feeling, knowing that she's supposed to be a teenager. She has these odd memories, feelings that important things happened in her life that she just can't remember. She has flashes, sometimes. She knows that she's 16 years old, remembering a big party with all of the girls dressed in their very best and, of course, the very best cake that had ever come out of the bakery.

"Vanellope?"

Hearing her door creak open, Vanellope sits up, thankful for the distraction. After King Candy… Turbo, had been defeated she had invited all the girls to move into the palace. Something just feels _right_ about having them only a few doors away. Well, that's not entirely true. Something just feels right about having Taffyta around. "Taff? What's wrong?"

Taffyta steps inside slowly. She looks a lot like a candy cane in her striped nightgown and Vanellope finds it hard to hold in a laugh. "I can't sleep. Why are we still like this?"

Vanellope frowns at Taffyta, beckoning the blonde to come inside. Her own nightgown makes her look like an ill ghost, green sleeves falling well past her wrists. It's not her fault that she's been living in hot springs and is cold all the time now. Taffyta comes further in, closing the door with another creak and Vanellope vows to remember to ask to have that fixed in the morning. "Why are you asking me?"

"You're the princess," Taffyta responds, standing next to the bed, her tone making it clear that she thinks her answer makes it obvious. Vanellope, long having given up on trying to get Taffyta to drop the princess thing and call her president, looks at her, raising an eyebrow and laying back, putting her hands underneath her head. Rolling her eyes, Taffyta pushes at Vanellope until she can lay down, kicking the covers halfway down the bed and not protesting when Vanellope pulls them all the way back up. "Shouldn't we have gone back to normal once the game reset? I feel so off."

Rolling onto her side, Vanellope looks at Taffyta. She doesn't remember her years after she turned 12 besides the flashes, just knowing that she had them. She supposes that it's part of the "glitch," part of what Turbo did to them. "Let's just get some sleep," she murmurs, rolling onto her other side, letting Taffyta know that the conversation is over. She doesn't want to think about it anymore tonight. She doesn't want to think about it at all.

Vanellope can hear Taffyta open her mouth, prepare to say something but she obviously thinks better of it. For a long time, Vanellope lays awake, listening to the sound of Taffyta settle in and then breathe softly. She wishes that she could fall asleep as easily as her friend did.

* * *

Racing is _exhilarating_ and Vanellope can't get enough of it. She had known all along that being a racer was in her code and she enjoys her time as undefeated champion. Every day, she races again and again, one of the more popular players. She blows kisses to the crowd and sometimes, when a racer is lucky, she even wears her gown for the race although it makes it very hard to press down on the peddles when she does and she almost always loses.

The best part is the racing takes Vanellope's mind off the fact that her citizens need her. They all want their memories back as well. They have families, lives and none of them can remember anything from the past few years. Sour Bill has told her it is probably due to the reset but Vanellope refuses to accept that. To accept it would mean accepting that they were, in fact, reset and that their memories are gone. Vanellope doesn't know how to tell her citizens that they'll never remember.

Two months after the reset, Vanellope has to admit to herself and to the others that she doesn't know what's going on. She knows the entrance to the code but it scares her, messing around with their code. She doesn't want to turn anybody else into a glitch even though she knows that she wouldn't allow them to be exiled like she was.

She takes her council and her very best friends and calls a meeting at Game Central Station. It's open to all and she waves at the people that she knows. Some of them, like Princess Peach, she knows are just there because they have nothing better to do. Others are there because she specially requested them like P.F.S.L. Hacker from the new hacking game that had only been plugged in recently. He has sunglasses on and she scoots a tad closer to Taffyta when she sees him, unnerved as she always is when she sees him.

"Everybody requested here? Good, good." Arc Ade stands up on one edge of the circle, looking around at the people seated around him. "We're here on behalf of Princess Vanellope and Sugar Rush. Vanellope, would you like to explain why you have called a meeting?"

Vanellope nods, taking a deep breath and swallowing hard. She tries to remember everything that she had rehearsed, everything that she wants to say. It all seems to fly out of her head. "We… we have a problem, you see," she finally says, looking into each of their eyes, avoiding looking at P.F.S.L. "As most of you know, two months ago, I crossed the finish line of my game. When that happened, the game was reset. Because of this, we have regained all of our preprogrammed backstories that had previously been locked up by Turbo. Unfortunately, we can't remember anything that happened before Turbo came into our game.

"My citizens are most displeased and… I have to admit that I am as well." Vanellope smiles as she sees Ralph amble in, late, and sit down next to Felix and Calhoun (who gives him a mighty glare for being late). "I'm back to thinking that I'm 12 years old and I know that I'm not. I've celebrated birthdays. I'm 16 years old. Things have happened in my life. And maybe the arcaders never noticed the difference but I did! I don't know how to manipulate the code and I'm scared to. I don't know how to regain our memories. I'm asking for help."

Looking over at Arc, she nods respectfully and sits back down, straightening her sweatshirt. Taffyta pokes her in the leg and she smiles widely at her friend, thankful that she has her support. She had asked Taffyta to come with, crossing her fingers in her sweatshirt pocket and telling her that she didn't really need her but that Taffyta might find it interesting. Taffyta hadn't even thought about it before telling Vanellope that of course she would go.

Arc's smile is kind and he looks like an old grandfather to Vanellope. "Well, you've heard Princess Vanellope's request. For the new games, I will explain a few things. As our game ages and as years pass in the gamer's world, years pass in our world. Our bodies do not change. We are programmed the way that we are. However, we do grow older, even if it's just in our minds. We are programmed at a certain age and count the years from there. You see what happens, even if you've only been plugged in a day. We fall in love, get married. Felix and Calhoun are the perfect example. We have lives. To be reset is a great tragedy and it's been the undoing of many great colleagues but… to remember that you had a life before the reset is unheard of. Is there anything anybody can do?"

"I can look at the code," P.F.S.L. says, pushing his sunglasses up over his head, revealing another pair of sunglasses on his face. Taffyta stares as he looks over at them. His voice is rough but quiet, a perk of the job he always said. He is the one who tells his gamers all about how to play his game and sounding mysterious is his way of business. "Turbo probably damaged it."

Vanellope tries to smile at him although she has a feeling that it's quite shaky. "Thank you. Will you be able to find the rest of our memories in the code?"

P.F.S.L shrugs, flicking his sunglasses back down over his eyes and Vanellope realizes that they're two shades darker than the originals on his face. "I dunno but it's worth a try. You all remember that there are memories so your memories are somewhere. You just have to find them."

Feeling a nudge against her leg, Vanellope looks over, seeing Taffyta smiling encouragingly at her. She doesn't feel quite as optimistic but she smiles back. "Well, I'm willing to do whatever needs to be done to find our memories," she says after a moment.

"I'll be coming with of course," Taffyta says, nudging Vanellope's leg with her own again. Vanellope's smile widens, turning real.

A few of her other racers, and of course, her royal guard and some of her council, speak up, saying that they'll do anything too. Vanellope is too busy thinking about the fact that Taffyta's smile makes her stomach feel like she ate too much candy.


	2. All the Games in Grand Central Station

It's Spriteing on the night that P.F.S.L. comes to visit their game, big, sticky droplets falling down onto their heads and P.F.S.L. scowls up at the sky. "Can't you make that stop?" he asks, sounding grumpy as Vanellope and Sour Bill lead up to the code. Vanellope has the piece of paper with the instructions clenched in her fist, terror filling her as they get closer to the thing that ruined her life for so long.

"No… I can't control the weather," Vanellope responds, trying to keep from being sarcastic. It's hard. Every inch of her wants to jump up on the branch and scream "Doy!" to him but she knows that she can't. She's the president princess now and she has duties. She giggles under her breath at the word and P.F.S.L. looks at her oddly.

"I'll check that in the code then," he says, taking the paper from her. Sour Bill hooks him up so that he can dive in and Vanellope stands still, wanting to step forward and wanting to step back. P.F.S.L. seems to understand her indecision and he grins, saluting her once. "I'll try to find your memories."

With that, he jumps and Vanellope rushes closer, watching as he swims through the code. He takes his time, searching through each individual strand and part, mumbling to himself as he looks them over. After a while, Vanellope sits down, looking at the ceiling and thinking about the responsibilities that she now faces. Sometimes, in the darkest parts of her, she wishes that she were back in her bed in the hot springs. She didn't have to worry when she was in there.

Taffyta joins her hours later, sitting down next to her, straightening her skirt but not saying a word. Vanellope takes comfort from her presence, not needing her memories to know that Taffyta had always been part of her reign. When it's nearing morning and the arcade will be opening, P.F.S.L. comes out, looking enthralled and Vanellope stands up, excited. "You found the memories?"

P.F.S.L. shakes his head though and Vanellope resists the urge to slump back against the wall. "No, unfortunately I didn't, kid. And if I didn't find it that means your memories aren't in there. Your code is fascinating though. Nearly as fascinating as the night that I went through both Fix-It Felix Jr.'s and Heroes Duty's codes."

"You've been through the other game's codes?" Vanellope asks, momentarily distracted by the games of her friends, feeling protective.

Shrugging, P.F.S.L. disconnects himself, waving away Sour Bill as the candy tries to help. "Helps with the line of work, kid. Seeing all the different codes is good for if a real emergency comes up."

Taffyta frowns at him, vocalizing what Vanellope had been distracted from. "If our memories aren't in there then where do we go from here?"

"You have a few options, kids. You can try to reset the game again, see if you forget that the memories are out there." Vanellope and Taffyta are shaking his head before he even finishes the sentence and so he holds up his hands in surrender. "Right, right. If you don't want to do that then you try to find them in some of the other games. If they've been taken out of your code then they could be anywhere. You'll recognize them as the parts of code though. You know what they look like?"

"You're not going to help us?" Vanellope asks, panic rising up her throat as P.F.S.L. shakes his head. "But-"

P.F.S.L. steps away from them, giving them a wave as he heads out of the castle, not waiting for them as they hurry after him. "Sorry, girls. Arcade's going to open and I have other things to do. I'm trying to entirely reprogram my game. Speaking of, your Sprite should be easier to dodge now. Good luck racing."

Vanellope and Taffyta don't stop following until they were out of the castle and Vanellope looks up at the sky. P.F.S.L. had separated the drops so they were further apart and, like he said, easier to doge. Vanellope wants to cry as a large drop of Sprite lands right in her face.

* * *

Racing that day is horrible. All Vanellope can think about is the memories. She dies and regenerates more times than she can count as she gets distracted, getting crushed by the gumballs, driving off the sugared ice slope and falling off the chocolate bridge. Taffyta just looks at her knowingly from the arcade screen and Vanellope doesn't look at anybody but her. She can't stand the looks of the concerned citizens.

When the arcade closes, Vanellope grabs Taffyta's wrist. "We're going to the other games. You heard him. We have to find our memories somewhere."

Taffyta's eyes widen as she looks at Vanellope, her face conveying the fear that she feels. Vanellope doesn't let herself feel the fear. She is fearless. At least, that's what she tries to convince herself of as she looks at her friend. "We can't do it alone."

"Then we'll ask Ralph. He'll help us. I bet Calhoun and Felix will too. That's enough, right?" Vanellope asks, hating how much the last word sounds like she's pleading. She feels like she's pleading.

Taffyta looks at her for a moment before she inclines her head, not saying another word. Vanellope doesn't say anything else, just smiles slightly and goes to ask.

Ralph says yes immediately when asked because he'd do anything for Vanellope and Vanellope is not afraid to take advantage of that. Calhoun says that it sounds like an adventure and she's in but Felix takes a while to convince. He's made no secret of the fact that he's extremely happy to be back in his game and, besides visits, he's not looking forward to leaving it again. When he knows that Calhoun is going without a doubt then he sighs and nods, giving in.

Planning doesn't take too long and Vanellope tells Sour Bill that he's in charge of Sugar Rush while she's gone. They will only be able to search the games while the arcade is closed. Vanellope and Taffyta aren't really needed as racers every day and one of the other soldiers could stand in for Calhoun but Felix and Ralph are needed for their game. Besides the fact that if racers saw them then there would be a catastrophe.

They examine the games that they are familiar with first, knowing that they'll spot anything that's out of the ordinary. Some of the citizens in the games help them and most of the games have very easy format. Pac-Man, for instance, only takes them a few minutes to look through. Vanellope enjoys the work and she says hi to everybody. She loves that she's able to leave her game now. She loves the other games.

Taffyta recognizes the joy on her face and she teases her about it, returning Vanellope's hug when Vanellope runs at her, overjoyed. When they've finally examined all the games that they can reach from Grand Central Station, they get trip permits which are granted almost immediately.

Grand Northern Station is a different world, one that Ralph and Felix can't join them in because it's a journey that has no promises of getting back in time for the arcade to open. Only unneeded characters who can prove they're not needed can go. Vanellope is surprised when Calhoun gets a permit as well. "Can't let two children go and look through games they've never been to by themselves," Calhoun says and they're both touched by the care for them.

"Well thank you," Vanellope says. For just a moment, she thinks that she should deny her, tell her to stay in her own game (especially because she's not a child but a teenager) but she's a bit worried so she keeps her mouth closed. The games in the other stations are different, some much newer and more violent. It'll be nice to have Calhoun by her side.

They leave the next day, with Sour Bill watching out for Sugar Rush and the end of the day race going on. Vanellope and Taffyta get ready for a new kind of adventure. Vanellope wants her memories and she'll do whatever it takes to get them.


	3. Frogs

Vanellope isn't really sure what to expect when they enter Grand Northern Station. She doesn't recognize anybody and there's some person she doesn't know making the announcements. Calhoun takes the lead, her turbo gun holstered but Vanellope knows that Calhoun can whip it out before she sneezes. She really hopes that Calhoun won't have to use it. At her side is Taffyta and Vanellope takes some comfort from that. "Well, we have to start somewhere, girls," Calhoun says, looking at each of the names of the games. Vanellope doesn't like the look on her face.

"We should work our way down. The first game is Frogs," Vanellope says, taking a deep breath. Frogs she's heard of. Frogs she knows about. The surge protector lets them go through without giving them another glance and the three get into the small cart.

"Stay behind me," Calhoun says, her body tense as they enter the game. Taffyta giggles as she sees the graphics and Vanellope has to cover her mouth to keep from doing the same. She had thought that Ralph and Felix looked bad. The trees on the corner of the game look like nothing Vanellope has ever seen before and that's not a good thing.

After Vanellope convinces Calhoun that it won't be too dangerous, they split up with Billy the Frog leading Calhoun to the code and Vanellope and Taffyta sifting through the dirty water. "I don't see how Turbo could've hid anything in here," Taffyta says, wrinkling her nose as she tries not to get too much mud on her clothes.

Vanellope can't help but agree even if she won't say it out loud. She's fairly certain that if there's any leftover code then it will be with another game's code. Turbo was tricky, though, and so she shrugs. "It's good to check."

"Gross you mean," Taffyta responds but she looks as well.

As they work, Vanellope watches her. She knows, just i_knows_/i deep down inside of her that Taffyta is something important to her. Perhaps she replaced Sour Bill as her royal advisor. Vanellope covers her mouth to keep from giggling, imagining what Sour Bill would say to that. The same way that Vanellope knew she was a racer, though, she knows that Taffyta is special to her. "Found anything?" Vanellope asks after a while.

Taffyta shakes her head. Vanellope nods, looking back down, intending on going over things again even though she swears she's been through the water twice now. She gasps as she feels something on the side of her head and she looks up just in time to get a face full of mud. "Oops," Taffyta says, barely able to get the word out around her laughter, almost doubled over with it.

"Oops?" Vanellope asks and she starts laughing as well, unable not to with how contagious Taffyta's laughter is. She bends down, lifting a handful of the squishy mud and sending it in Taffyta's direction.

It's almost comical as Taffyta's eyes widen and Vanellope smirks. Taffyta hadn't been looking at her and obviously hadn't been expecting the return shot. Vanellope laughs as they dissolve into a mud war, having only some grass and a few trees to hide behind. The entire terrain is pixelated and muddy and Vanellope slips more times than she can count, always getting back up to send another handful of mud Taffyta's way.

"You're messing up your clothes," Vanellope yells, laughter making her words hard to understand but Taffyta's dramatic gasp is easy to hear. She knows that Taffyta doesn't really care because they can have their clothing be reset but Taffyta enjoys being dramatic.

"Oh, you're gonna get it." Vanellope moves backwards, worried by the tone of Taffyta's voice. She gasps as Taffyta comes running at her, running into her and knocking her on her back. Taffyta scoops up some mud, holding it teasingly over Vanellope's face. Vanellope is dangerously aware of Taffyta's weight on her stomach, her legs on either side of her body as she straddles her. She has conflicting emotions, of feeling 12 but knowing that she's 16 and it's all so odd. "Noooo. Taffyta, don't."

Taffyta smirks, one finger on her other hand coming up to smear some mud along Vanellope's cheek and Vanellope wonders what the burn in her cheeks is coming from. She can't be blushing. "Is that a royal command, Princess?"

Vanellope is too late nodding and she closes her eyes and mouth as Taffyta pushes the mud in her face. Vanellope's eyes widen and she's just about to flip them over to give Taffyta a taste of her own medicine when Calhoun rejoins them, shaking her head and laughing when she sees them. "You girls are too much. Nothing in the code."

The girls exchange a look, disappointment evident but they nod as Taffyta gets up, holding out her hand to help Vanellope stand. Vanellope grabs her hand, wanting to pull Taffyta into the mud with her but she abruptly remembers. She's the president princess. She shouldn't be doing something like this. "Right. Onto the next game. Thank you for your help, Billy. We checked all out here."

"Come on. We need to get you girls to a Reset point so that we can get you cleaned off," Calhoun says, shaking her head, beckoning for the girls to follow her. She has a soft smile on her face as she watches them and Vanellope smiles back, unaware of all the implications in the smile. "We have a lot of games left to check."

Vanellope and Taffyta exchange a look, smirking and then turning away as they follow Calhoun. There's a Reset point close by and the girls are put together good as new. "Where to next?" Taffyta asks, looking up at the names.

Calhoun looks up before pointing up at the next game in the line. "Super Street Fighter," she says and she doesn't sound as happy as she did when they were entering frogs.

This time they get stopped by the surge protector and they show their passes to try to get through. "Arcade's about to open," he tells them. "An announcement will be made when the arcade closes."

They don't get any warning before the surge protector disappears and the announcement is made that the arcade will open. The girls find a place to settle in the hall, watching as characters run past them, hurrying to get to their games. Vanellope looks over, seeing that Calhoun is analyzing each person and she's glad that she and Taffyta aren't alone. She's glad that she can hand over control for a little while.

"I'm going to go look at the names of the games" Calhoun says, standing up after the hall is mostly cleared except for a few stragglers who obviously aren't needed for their games.

Taffyta and Vanellope nod together, watching as Calhoun walks off, her hand on her gun. "This is the first time I haven't raced in… as long as I can remember," Taffyta murmurs, looking over at the end of the hall, where they had come in.

Vanellope looks down at her hands because she had been thinking about the fact that they aren't racing today. "Well, it's for the best. I get distracted racing when I'm too busy thinking."

"Yeah well you don't have as much practice as me," Taffyta says with a wink and a smirk.

Laughing, Vanellope bumps her shoulder against Taffyta's. She hopes that they can get things resolved fast. She already misses her home.


End file.
